Coaxial cable is commonly used for distributing television and radio signals. The conventional coaxial cable consists of a central inner electrical conductor, usually made of aluminum or copper, surrounded by a dielectric insulator that is interposed between the inner electrical conductor and an outer electrical conductor. The outer electrical conductor is surrounded by a protective insulating jacket. The outer electrical conductor can comprise a sheath of fine braided metallic strands, a metallic foil, or multiple layer combinations of either or both. The dimensions of such coaxial cables may vary, depending upon type and source. Small diameter coaxial cables have been made available to the consumer. Typically either type RG-6 having a nominal overall diameter of about 0.275 inches (0.699 cm), or a type RG-59 having a nominal overall diameter of about 0.240 inches (0.609 cm).
Conventional coaxial cable end connectors are generally tubular in shape with a front end for connecting to a mating port and a rear end for receiving and connecting to the coaxial cable. The end connectors typically used for indoor service are known as "feed-through" connectors in the sense that the central inner electrical conductor of the coaxial cable extends through the end connector. The inner conductor is then engaged by a receptacle element (sometimes referred to as a center seizure mechanism) of the mating port mounted on such devices as a television set, a video cassette recorder, a FM stereo receiver, or the like.
Various feed-through connectors have been proposed for attaching to the end of prepared coaxial cables. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,195,906 ("Szegda"), which is incorporated herein in its entirety by reference, discloses an end connector having a tubular body with a port connecting end and a cable connecting end. The port connecting end has a locking sheath disposed about it which is adapted to lock the port connecting end to a mating port. The cable connecting end consists of interior, conventional (right-handed or clockwise) threads preceded by a non-threaded portion near the opening in the end of the cable connecting end. The connector is attached to a prepared coaxial cable by twisting the cable connecting end clockwise while pushing the connector down onto the cable. The drawback of the Szegda connector is that it is hard to grasp the cable connecting end and thread the connector onto the cable because of the small outer diameter of the cable connecting end.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,181,861 ("Gaver, Jr. et al.") discloses a manually installable end connector having a housing sleeve, a connector body having a plurality of serrations on fingers that extend longitudinally along the cable, and a locking ring. The connector is attached to a prepared coaxial cable by pushing the connector onto the cable, then sliding the housing sleeve backward in the direction of the cable to compress the serrations of the fingers into the cable and to engage the locking ring to hold the fingers in the cable.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,127,853 ("McMills et al.") discloses a feed-through connector having a tubular mandrel body dimensioned to be positioned between the dielectric insulator and the outer conductor of a prepared cable end. The body has a cable engagement surface comprising a conventional (right-handed or clockwise) set of threads which defines a knife edge projection around the body for engaging the outer conductor of the cable by creating shear stresses in the outer conductor without actually shearing the outer conductor. The connector is attached to the cable by turning the tubular body with a tool clockwise while pushing the connector down onto the cable so that the cable engagement surface of the tubular body burrows between the dielectric insulator and the outer conductor. Then the connector is locked in place by sliding a sleeve over the outside of the cable until it compresses the cable engagement surface of the tubular body between the dielectric insulator and the outer conductor.
In spite of the benefits of the above described coaxial cable connectors, there is a continuing need for a feed-through connector that is more easily installable by the consumer or installation craftsperson (i.e., installer) manually without tools or special skills. A cable television installer might have to install dozens of cable connectors in a day, especially if they have to make up cables that connect a video cassette recorder to a television (i.e., jumpers). The number of cable connectors installed can be hard on the fingers and possibly cause repetitive stress syndrome.